Through It All
by An Anonymous Soul
Summary: It's taken me long enough, but the sequel to Tragic Love has finally arrived! Curious? Anxious? Have nothing better to do? Then read and find out what happens next!
1. Chapter 1

"Is she okay?" Daniel hissed, his quiet voice sounding more menacing than it should have.

"It depends on what you mean by 'Okay'." Dr. Cowen sighed. "She doesn't seem to remember anything up to about four years ago."

Daniel's intake of breath was sharp.. he raised a hand to his forehead, running his fingers exasperatingly through his dark hair. "What's the last thing she remembers?" he tried to swallow his pride as he spoke. Since his superiority to Jareth was clear in his mind, it didn't matter what Sarah remembered. History could be re-written.

"She keeps saying her brother's been stolen, but she doesn't remember anything after that…"

"Nothing?" he had to be sure.

"Nothing." Cecilia confirmed. Despite himself, Daniel smiled.

"Can I see her, then?"

"Not yet. Sarah isn't ready to speak with anyone she doesn't recall."

"Oh," he stared dejectedly at his feet. "Maybe another time then," Cecilia nodded as he walked away

As soon as he rounded the corner, Daniel laughed.

………………..

"Can I come in?" Cecilia knocked at the door frame of Sarah's room.

"Sure. It's Dr. Cowen, right?" she answered the voice.

Cecilia nodded and walked in to sit on the bed beside her. "But you can call me Cecilia," Cecilia smiled at Sarah. Her hand rested on the bed, a ring glimmered on her ring finger.

"That's a beautiful ring," Sarah stated after a while.

"Thank you. I'm getting married." Cecilia tried and failed at containing the excitement in her voice.

"Can I see it?" Sarah nodded towards the ring. Cecilia agreed to it and slipped the ring off her finger, placing it safely in Sarah's slender hand.

The ring looked familiar to Sarah. She stared at it like it was covered in a fail; she knew she should have known it's shape but couldn't place why. Sarah allowed her fingers to trace the triangle's curved edges to their pointed tips. Something sparkled within the oddly shaped triangle, but there were no gems to be seen. "It's spectacular," Sarah managed, unexpected tears stinging her eyes. "Whoever he is, I wish the both of you the best of luck." She tried to swallow her tears as she handed the ring back to Cecilia.

"thank you." Cecilia smiled sadly and got up, placing the ring back on her finger as she walked. Once the door closed, Sarah's face met with her pillow, and she cried.

Within a few short minutes, Sarah cried herself to sleep.

_It all seemed _so_ familiar. Sarah stood in a large room with stairs cut into either wall. She took a few steps, listening to her shoes clack against the stone floor, keeping her eyes on her feet, she moved towards he steps on her right. Sarah treaded carefully, afraid to break the spell._

_Finally reaching the top step, she gasped. The room looked fresh, like she'd seen it every day since birth. There was a large pit in the middle of the room with a dingy red carped covering it's floor. In the back of the room, a throne sat, and on the throne sat a man. His face was clouded, but Sarah knew who it was as soon as she saw him._

"_Why can't I remember you?" she asked, cautious as she stepped nearer. He shrugged. "I won't remember you when I wake up, will I?" It was a question, but she already knew the answer. The man shook his head sadly. "But can I enjoy my dream while it lasts?" the man nodded and held his arms open. She still walked slowly, but happily crawled into the man's strong arms, curling up in his lap like a lost dog. She gazed up at his face, trying to clear the fog that covered it. "Why can't I see you?" she asked. Sarah thought she heard him laugh, but he shook his head and pressed a leather gloved finger to her lips. And she understood._

_Sometimes it's best to enjoy the silence._


	2. If Only

Sarah awoke feeling refreshed, all traces of crying erased from her face. Her dreams had been sweet; she now had some sense of knowledge, something to let her know that her past wasn't completely forgotten. She got up from her stiff bed to draw the blinds on the window. Much to her surprise, a two toned snowy owl was perched on the window ledge. It cocked its head to one side, staring intently at Sarah.

"Strange," she wondered aloud, "What are you doing here?" she questioned the bird, ready to open the window, but before she could, the mysterious owl flew away. "Oh well," Sarah shrugged, striding to her bedside.

Sarah checked the clock, watched as it blinked. 10.05. It was fine a time as any to bathe. She stared down at her pale arm, ever vigilant of the wires and tubes punctured through her paper flesh. Without thinking twice, she looked away and tugged at them, preparing herself for the small sting that would shock her arm. Sarah went to her dresser and pulled a tissue from the tissue box, balling it up at her elbow. Being inexperienced with needles, she wasn't sure whether her arm would bleed profusely or not. After waiting a moment, she pulled the tissue away to find only one or two red blooms on the startling white of the tissue. Pleased, she threw the tissue out and moved into the small bathroom.

Sarah flicked the light switch, almost blinded by the bright neon tube lights that were on either side of a large mirror. They hummed loudly in Sarah's ears.

Standing close to the shower, she disrobed, deftly untying the little knots and blows that kept her hospital gown closed, she sighed when it finally pulled away; Sarah thought she would rather be nude than have to wear the gown a moment longer, it was almost the same thing, after all.

Sarah turned the knob to the shower, allowing the water to pool at the bottom of the especially shallow tub before stepping in. the water felt good on her shoulders, slowly unknotting them from the tension of hospital life. Sarah wasn't sure _why_ she was so tense. What had happened before she went comatose? And what o the dream she had had the previous night? It certainly hadn't _felt_ like a dream. It had had a certain quality to it, something real. Somehow she felt that she had left the hospital and gone to the man with the clouded face. There was a sense of whimsy to it all, she thought to herself. The place she had been was far too intricate for Sarah to have dreamed up on her own. She sighed, tipping her head upwards and letting the water splash up on her face. She exhaled, trying desperately to unfog her head.

Finally satisfied with her freshly scrubbed self, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a white towel around her naked torso. Sarah stared at herself in the now fogged mirror, waiting for the mist to clear.

…………………

Finding the dresser, she opened one its plastic drawers and pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She had gotten it with her father when she was ten and they had gone to Disneyland, several sizes too big. It was _still_ too big, and obnoxiously colored, but it didn't matter. No one would be in to see her in it anyway. Sarah quickly pulled it over her head, followed by the oversized jeans, and flopped into bed. It almost bounced with the sudden force, the springs making sickening creaking noises. She turned her head to the left and stared out the window, the day was crisp, leaves fell silently from the large oak outside. And yet it seemed incomplete, devoid of some important factor. She sighed heavily and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the still lingering slumber that tugged at her eyelids. She held a hand up, suspending it in front of her eyes. These hands, her hands, had done something, she just wasn't sure what yet.

She turned on her side, absorbing her chambers. Large floor tiles sparkled in the sunlight that glinted from the window. A safety corner plastic dresser held her clothing and the little memories from her childhood. Sarah went to it. Opening the first drawer, she stared at its contents. There were clothes folded up in neat little squares, piled on top of one another. Sarah sifted through them, searching for something. She felt blindly until her hand came in contact with something hard. Sarah quickly closed her fingers around it, and pulled out a small red book. The Labyrinth was printed on its front in big gold letters. "Hmm," Sarah sighed to herself in concentration, fingers tracing over the oddly familiar lettering. She opened book to a page near the back and began reading.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way to the castle, beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great…" Sarah shut the book, closing her eyes to revel in the blackness of her eyelids.

"You have no power over me," She whispered. If only that was true. If only whatever had happened to her would reveal itself. If only it wasn't driving Sarah insane, ebbing at the edges of her brain, ready to explode. If only she could turn back time, look back at the past. There were so many if only's, but the truth was still unclear.

…………………

The brooding man atop his throne sighed. Just when he had gained the ability to do more than invade the girl's dreams, the privilege was rudely snatched away by cruel fate. He flung a crystal carelessly in his hands, voyeuristically watching Sarah from hits orbed reflection. H e missed her. He knew he could lie to everyone around him, put on one of his ever-cruel facades, but only he knew his own thoughts. He knew what he needed.

"Wow, Jareth. This place needs cleaning," A soprano voice called from the throne room's entrance way. She gazed upon him intently, watching as he made the guilty crystal vanish. "It looks exactly the same as the last time I was here," the woman recalled. "Jareth glared at her. He knew what would lie ahead if he did not pick a queen. The goblins would revolt, and the mass anarchy would cost him his throne. H had had his queen picked out, had been anticipating the moment when the crest would rest in her gentle hands, but the time for that had been taken away from him by his own son. Jareth refused to hand his son the Labyrinth, and if that meant marrying to another woman, pride came first.

"Oh," the woman said, disappointed, "I've interrupted you. I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone with your thoughts." Her smile was heartbreaking, but Jareth paid no mind as she left the room. He stared at her back as she left. He hated what he had to do but Cecilia was the closest thing to his Sarah. She had come so close to defeating the mighty Goblin King, and still saw Sarah regularly. His final portal lay within what he vowed never to see again.


End file.
